because i am no longer a christian (2023)

This post is about my journey from Christian to non-Christian, from believer to non-believer. No matter what you think about God, Jesus, Christianity, or religion, I ask you to put it aside for a moment and open up.

This post may offend you, but that is not my intention.

My intention was simply to explore the main teachings of Jesus while calling Christianity as I see it.

because i became a christian

First, I was not raised in a Christian or religious home.

Neither of my parents were Christian, nor were they interested in religion.

It wasn't until my father divorced and remarried my mother when I was 11 that he converted to Christianity and began to talk to me about God, Jesus, and the Bible. From then on, he started making me go to church with him and my stepmom every time I saw them every other weekend.

I found the bible and church very boring, but I became a Christian anyway.

The reasons are as follows:

The heaven and the hell

I feel I have no choice in this matter. He was terrified of death, and my father and stepmother told me in no uncertain terms that if he didn't make me a Christian, I would go to hell forever.

christian = heaven. Not being a Christian = hell.

Infinite pleasure and infinite pain.

What would you choose seems easy

The Bible answers big questions

The Bible seems to answer my big question:

• why are we here
• What is the meaning of life?
• What happens after we die?

Nobody seems to know.

The only place I can find answers to these questions is the Bible.

it's not an accident

I do not agree with the logic of atheists.

If there is no God, how did we get here?

Did the universe come from nothing?

Did the world create itself?

Are humans an accident?

I don't believe it.

The odds are astronomically impossible. Obviously we were created. Creation requires a creator. Therefore, God must be real.

natural law

We live in a universe that works according to a law: gravity. math. physical. The speed of light and more. Where do these laws come from? These laws are too precise to be an accident. There has to be a legislator. Another sign of the existence of God.

the teaching of jesus

What Jesus taught intuitively sounded good to me. Do to others, do not impose on others. You love your neighbor as yourself. be good. Do not be bad. How could anyone object?

near death experience

What about the thousands of people who have seen heaven or hell or even the near death experience of Jesus?

Is everyone lying?

Are you crazy or delirious?

Is everyone making it up?

I don't believe it.

Who better to know what happens after death, however brief, than those who have died and experienced the afterlife?

what do i think

Beliefs vary from Christian to Christian, but I believe that:

• I believe that the Bible is the literal, inerrant, and inerrant text of God, containing God's message to humanity.
• I believe in god, satan, angels, demons, heaven, hell, creation story, noah's ark, jesus works miracles and everything the bible says
• I believe that literally 99.99% of everyone who has ever lived will go to hell. Unbeliever? hell. homosexual? hell. Believing in God but going to the "wrong" church? hell. Didn't you even get a chance to hear the gospel because it was never preached to you? hell.

give back:

My dad believed in Bible prophecy and told me in 1991 when I was 11 years old:

• Jesus will return / the world will end in 2000 (9 years later)
• Before that, the "Antichrist" will appear, a powerful political figure who will lead a world government and start killing/persecuting Christians, forcing them into hiding and trying to wipe them off the face of the earth.
• Everyone on Earth will soon be forced to accept the "Mark of the Beast", an invisible barcode that will be stamped on their forehead or right hand without which no one will be able to buy or sell.

PS: If you reject the "Mark of the Beast" (Satan's mark), they will cut off your head.

Why does my father tell me these things?

Because he believes.

He is also quite confident in that. Almost smug, with a haughty certainty.

Unfortunately, as I am only 11 years old, I am still gullible, naive and do not have the necessary skills.critical thinking skillsBeing able to separate fact from fiction and challenge my lies and brainwashed nonsense.

I believe in everything.

Although that's bullshit.

how am i as a christian

I was a Christian throughout my teenage years. Around 13-20 years old.

I don't just believe in Christianity, I'm obsessed with it.

i'm tough

• I spend hours every day reading the bible.
• I pray several times a day
• I was baptized in the river
• I go to a youth group on weekdays and to church on Sundays.
• I listen to Christian music (DC Talk is my favorite band) and Christian radio
• I watch Christian television and love to listen to televangelists.
• I read Christian books and magazines, especially books on Bible prophecy, spiritual/supernatural/near-death experiences, and the end of the world. I especially like Rick Joyner's books.final taskIntimidated by Mary K Baxter's bookdivine revelation in hell
• I am addicted to sin. I won't lie I can't drink I won't even swear.
• I preach to almost everyone I know, and am constantly fighting with my family (mother, sister, and grandparents) asking why they didn't convert to Christianity. Don't you want to go to heaven? Do you want to go to hell? Why don't they just confess their sin, admit they were wrong, and call it a day? PS: I told my Nana"These are the last days!"she mocked"That's what they used to say when I was a kid!"
• I plan to go to bible school and become a pastor or missionary.
• I am willing to die for God/Jesus

Note: I would not kill for God/Jesus, despite what we see many Islamic terrorists do today in the name of Allah, because the bible teaches"You Can't Kill"Exodus 20:13

My grandmother told me not to take Christianity "too seriously," which I thought was ridiculous. As far as I'm concerned, it's either true or it's not, or you believe it or you don't. If people go to hell they need to be saved and if they are not Christian it is a lie.

As C.S Lewis said in his famous book"Simple Christianity"You can't pretend that Jesus was a great moral teacher, because no one would be a great moral teacher if they said the kind of things that Jesus said: he was crazy, he was evil, or he was telling the truth, and you have to decide for yourself. what it is.

What is Jesus to you?

• cult leader
• a crazy
• liars and liars
• son of God

the biggest problem isChristianity: Christian

"The main cause of atheism in the world today is Christians: they confess Jesus with their lips, they go out of their homes and they deny him with the way they live their lives. That is what an unbelieving world will find incredible." brennanman rather

When I was 18 years old, I began to suspect that there was something wrong with Christianity. Although it's not the bible or faith that I have a problem with, it's the Christians.

The Bible says that Christians who are filled with the Holy Spirit can heal the sick, raise the dead, speak in tongues, perform miracles, etc. But I have never seen these things. Where is the healing? Where is the miracle? Where is Jesus? Where is God?

All I see is a bunch of liars and hypocrites. People who say one thing and do another. Person who does not keep the commandments and lives poorly. People do what they want and ask for forgiveness. In fact, I don't see a real difference in the lifestyle of the average Christian and the non-believer.

"Why do you call me 'Lord, Lord' and don't do what I tell you?" Luke 6:46

Jesus prays"Not my will, but yours be done" - Luke 22:42,But every "Christian" I know prays for it.They arewill be done

In fact, most Christians pray for a few things, like a child asking Santa for a present at Christmas:

• a new car
• new house
• a newcomer
• Miracle"
• bless"
• an "anointing"

(The last three words in quotes are code words Christians use to ask God for money, similar to how new age "spiritual" types use words like "abundance" and "manifestation" to try to make their greed sound spiritual).

I was sad when I left Christianity because I felt like I had lost my identity and my life no longer seemed to have any meaning or purpose. I feel very frustrated.

What I don't understand is: if Christians believe the Bible is true, why don't they?

But looking back now, I can see why the faith of most Christians is so weak.

How sure are you of something you've never seen?

99.99% of Christians have never seen God/Jesus/miracles, or anything spiritual or supernatural. That is something they read in the Bible. But it is not part of your everyday experience.

There is also a huge disconnect between what they read in the Bible and what they experience every day.

• When they asked - they did not receive
• When they are in trouble - God does not come
• When they pray - they don't hear anything

Just silence. It is as if God did not exist.

Many church leaders also do not lead by example:

Ted Haggard, pastor of the 14,000-member New Life Church in Colorado, spent years preaching to his church about the evils of homosexuality while secretly taking methamphetamine and having sex with male prostitutes.

Juan McFarlane, pastor of the Missionary Baptist Church in Hilo, Alabama, took drugs and had sex with members of his church inside his church without telling them he had AIDS.

Luis LaMonica, pastor of Hosanna Church in Louisiana, entered the police station and confessed to raping more than 25 boys ages 4 to 16 inside the church, teaching the boys how to have sex, having sex with dogs and sacrificing animals, and drinking their blood in various satanic rituals that he secretly performed inside the church.

This list does not even scratch the surface and does not include the thousands of Catholic priests who have raped and sexually abused children around the world for decades, if not centuries.

"The truth is that far more crimes and child abuse are committed by fanatics in the name of God, Jesus and Muhammad than in the name of Satan. Many people do not like this statement, but few would dispute it." -Carl Saganworld haunted by demons

Then you have these outright liars and charlatans who claim to have talked to God, seen the future, been visited by angels, etc.

I saw a Zimbabwean pastor on YouTube the other day claiming to be talking to God on the phone...

Wow.

How stupid do you have to be to believe this?

The priest also claimed to have walked on water.

So you see this priest Alf Lukau pretending to raise the dead:

Tragically, the "resurrected" man in this video died under suspicious circumstances shortly after being poisoned...

Then there is Pastor Mboro, who tries to sell photos of his apparent visit to heaven:The prophet Mboro tries to sell false images of paradise

Then there are these stupid televangelical preachers like Benny Hinn, Kenneth Copeland, Creflo Dollar, whatever this guy is preaching the "prosperity gospel" trying to convince gullible Christians that the way to get rich is to donate your money to the Church "sowing the seed of your faith".

Why not start with a donation of $1,000?

Or false faith healers like Benny Hinn who "heal" people through the power of the "Holy Spirit."

Wow! Look how good Benny Hinn is! He just knocked out hundreds of people!

Thank God!

These televangelical missionaries earn millions of dollars a year, and some are worth more than $100 million. They live luxuriously in multi-million dollar mansions and even have their own private jets. They love money and easily overlook what Jesus taught about money:

"A camel goes through the eye of a needle, but it's easy for the rich to play God. – Mateo 19:23-34, Lucas 18:25

Then you have people who actually believe they are Jesus, like this guy from South Australia:

The this type of Siberia:

Either way, after becoming increasingly disappointed, I slowly gave up on Christianity when I realized that I had never come across a single biblical definition of a Christian.

not one.

even when i visitJerusalemWhen I saw the places where Jesus and the Old Testament prophets lived and preached in 2014, I was struck by how unholy and unspiritual the pastors working in churches are. Most are bad old men who seem to hate life, hate people and don't want to be there.

Yes, there are some serious problems in the world of Christianity and religion.

"I like your Christ, I don't like your Christians. Your Christians are so different from your Christ" - Mahatma Gandhi

The Bible

We are getting closer to what Jesus taught, but let's talk briefly about the Bible...

Any representation of the Bible as:

• best book of all time
• infallible
• childish nonsense / a bunch of nonsense

... Has no sense.

First, the Bible is not a book. Nor was it written by God. The Bible is a collection of 66 books written by 44 different authors over a period of 1,500 years. Of course it will contradict itself.

It's hard to talk about the Bible objectively, because atheists refuse to see anything good in it, and Christians refuse to see anything bad in it.

In fact, Christians will side with the Bible even if it contradicts logic, reason, and common sense, and give ridiculous and implausible explanations as to why it is not wrong, even if it is clearly wrong, so that they can continue to believe. it is the best book ever written.

Most Christians believe every word they read in the Bible no matter what. When a Christian reads the words "Jesus walked on the water," he doesn't doubt it for a second. They just think, "Wow! This is what happened! Unbelievable!"

If the next line in the Bible says"Jesus floats on the water", o"Jesus began to fly", Christians would also believe this. Because? Because they were taught to believe that the Bible is the Word of God (as if it were written by God himself), and therefore inerrant and perfect in every way. This is the greatest, smartest, and wisest book ever written. case closed. Finish.

In fact, the Bible is a mixture of fact and fiction. There must be a lot of truth and wisdom in it, but also a lot of nonsense. Much of the Bible is also boring, irrelevant, and tedious, even for most Christians.

Not that they'll ever admit it.

Also read:

Jesus was wrong 13 times in the Bible

101 of the craziest, weirdest, and most absurd biblical arguments

where i disagreeChristendom

While I like many of Jesus' teachings, I disagree with many things about Christianity.

I don't believe in the dominant Christian narrative about Jesus.

I do not believe that Jesus is/is the only way to God.

I do not believe that the Bible is the word of God.

I don't think we need a savior.

I think Christianity focuses too much on the past and the hereafter instead of the present and the present. The Bible and the attitude of many Christians (and Muslims) seems to be "it's okay if my life sucks right now, because I will have riches in heaven."

Jesus said:“Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; nor for your body, what will you wear.” Matthew 6:25

I used to believe this but now I disagree because what you eat, drink and wear has a huge impact on how you think and feel and the way you project and attract energy. (Thank youAyahuascaThanks for teaching me this. ) If you look good, you will feel good. If you eat healthy, your body and mind will thank you.

"Blessed are the poor, for yours is the kingdom of God." Luke 6:20 –Does anyone really believe it? Poverty is not a blessing, but a curse. Life without money sucks. Without money, you have no choice. There is nothing you can do. You can't go anywhere. Christians know this and that's why they pray to God for money, it's just that they use the keyword "blessing" or "miracle".

If any Christian really thinks that poverty is a blessing"Money is the root of evil"1 Timothy 6:10, you must give all your money and sell all your possessions as Jesus said, then you will have riches in heaven. But they don't because they don't really believe in it.

In the end, I think many Christians take a passive approach to life, sitting around doing nothing and trusting God to magically solve their problems instead of acting and noticing."God helps those who help themselves".

christian question

Here are some questions I would like to ask Christians:

• If God wants everyone to believe in him, why doesn't he show up and reveal himself to everyone instead of hiding from everyone?
• Why doesn't God speak for himself and clear up all the confusion?
• Why doesn't God/Jesus ever speak out loud to you?
• What evidence do you have that the Bible is the word of God?
• Why does God need human sacrifice to forgive us?
• Why did God need Jesus to die for our sins? He can't he forgive us?
• If demon possession is real, where are all the possessed people today? Aren't they just people with mental illness/schizophrenia?
• Have you warned everyone you know about hell? If not, why not?
• What happens to babies if they die or miscarry? Will he go to hell forever?
• What about the billions of people who were never evangelized in times before Jesus or who live in the other 195 countries (99% of the world)? Will they all go to hell?
• Jesus said:"Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, tell this mountain: 'Go and throw yourself into the sea,' and it will happen."Matthew 21:21 - Do you really believe it?
• Jesus said:“Truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works that I have done, and will do greater things, because I am going to the Father. I will do everything you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified. You can ask me anything on my behalf and I will do it. "John 14:12-14 - Do you think you can do bigger things than Jesus? Examples include working miracles, healing the sick, raising the dead, walking on water, etc. If not, is it because Jesus was lying, got it wrong, or was misquoted?
• jesus said"Truly I tell you, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name."John 16:23 - Do you really believe it? If so, why not pray to God for a cure for AIDS or cancer? Why not pray to God to end world hunger?
• Jesus said:"When you make a lunch or dinner, do not invite your rich friends, brothers, relatives or neighbors; the lame and the blind will be blessed."Luke 14:12-14 - Have you done this? If not, why not?
• Jesus said:"Sell your property and give it to the poor."Luke 12:33 - Have you done it? If not, why not?
• If Jesus was God and knew he was going to heaven, why was he afraid to die?
• Jesus told his disciples that he would return to earth "in this generation", but he did not (Matthew 24,32-34; cf. Mark 13,28-30; Luke 21,29-32). Two thousand years later, he still hasn't returned. Have you considered the possibility that he may not return? Is it possible that he was wrong, misinterpreted or misquoted?

The greatest teaching of Jesus

Well I think that is enough damage to Christianity and religion. Not everything is bad. Some of Jesus' teachings are absolutely brilliant.

I just want to emphasize giving Christians and Christianity a reality check because even though I love what Jesus taught, I am not a Christian and I like to keep it real.

Golden Rule

The golden rule of Christianity is:

"Do with others what you would like them to do with you." – Matthew 7:12, Luke 6:31

Talk to others the way you want them to talk to you.

Treat others as you would like to be treated.

Quite simply, if more people did this, the world could be like heaven on earth.

2 The greatest commandment

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. The second is similar: "Love your neighbor as yourself. These are the two commandments, the Law and the Prophets" - Matthew 22:35-40

The two great commandments according to Jesus:

1. Eros
2. love others

Jesus even taught his disciples to love their enemies:

"Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who mistreat you. If you love those who love you, what good is it to you? Even sinners love those who love to his people. If you are good to those who are good to you, what good is it to you? Even sinners do that. If you lend to those you expect to repay, what good is it to you? What merit? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting payment in full, but love your enemies, do them good, and lend without expecting anything in return.” – Luke 6:27-29, 32-35

take up your cross

“If anyone comes to me and does not hate his parents, his wife, his children, his brothers and sisters, yes, even his own life, such a person cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not take his cross and follow me, you cannot be my disciples. My disciples, you who do not leave everything, cannot be my disciples. – Luke 14:26-27,33

It's something you don't hear from church pastors or televangelists because it's not what people want to hear, but it's one of my favorite Bible verses because it's so uncompromising.

Most Christians would like to believe that going to church on Sunday, reading the Bible, and asking Jesus to forgive their sins will make them Christians, but that is not the case.

Becoming a Christian means truly being a follower of Jesus and keeping his commandments, dying to your old life, and being willing to put God's will before your own.

Jesus did everything God asked him to do, even if it meant death. But Christians do not deny themselves. They do not put God first. Most of them also do not follow the teachings of Jesus. Instead, they put themselves first and get away with it before praying to God for forgiveness.

Being a Christian boils down to this: Either you obey the will of your ego or the will of God. Either you put God first or you put yourself first.

do not be a hypocrite

"Why worry about a blemish on your friend's eye when you have your own diary? How can you think of telling your friend, 'Let me help you get rid of that blemish on your eye' when you can't see the past yourself The log in your eye? You hypocrite, remove the log in your own eye before you can see clearly and remove the speck in your brother's eye.- Matthew 7:3-5

If there's one thing Jesus didn't like, it's being a hypocrite.

He spends a lot of time denouncing the Pharisees, the hypocritical religious leaders of his day, who were much like the religious leaders of today.

One of the biggest problems in the world today is that everyone wants to change others, but nobody wants to change themselves.

In fact, some of the craziest and worst people I've ever met are counselors, psychologists, and social workers. The profession seems to attract a certain mentality of wanting to solve other people's problems rather than your own.

If you have to find fault with someone, start with yourself, because that is the only person you can change.

Do not be a hypocrite. Practice what you preach.

Forget about other people and what they are or are not doing.

What are you doing? What is your problem? what do you need to change?

Don't judge others/forgive

"Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. For when you forgive others when they sin against you, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your heavenly Father will not forgive yours." – Matthew 6:14-15, Luke 6:37

This is a teaching that I have repeatedly violated throughout my life.

I have judged others harshly, viciously, and often found it very difficult to forgive.

Don't get me wrong: I can easily forgive someone who is genuinely sorry, but knowingly wrong...wrong done to hurt myself or others, I won't forgive. I will not forgive those who do not repent.

But Jesus taught his disciples to forgive, and he even forgave his disciple Judas who betrayed him.

He even forgave those who killed him.

While forgiveness is my weakness, there is a secret to forgiveness that I have learned over the years that has worked wonders for me...

There is nothing to forgive in the first place.

Here's what I mean: the next time someone offends you, let it go the moment it happens, instead of analyzing it to death and letting it grow into something big in your head. That way, you have nothing to forgive in the first place. If you think about it: "I forgive" or "I don't forgive" are just thoughts with which you identify.

Confucius said it best:"It's nothing to be wronged, unless you always remember it."

¿World Wide Web?

It's not a commandment in the Bible, but it's a good question for anyone, even if you're not a Christian, you can substitute Jesus for anyone you respect.

What would Jesus do?

What would Krishna do?

What would Buddha do?

What would Gandhi do?

What would Oprah do?

(insert your hero or role model) What would you do?

in conclusion

I don't know anything about Jesus. You neither.

All I know is what I've read. All I think about is my imagination. Everything I believe is just an opinion. Here's the problem: we can't talk to Jesus, ask him any question to clarify anything. All we have to do is what someone else wrote about him thousands of years ago, which may or may not be true.

We don't know what he looks like, what he sounds like, what his personality is, what he actually said, what he did, or anything else.

Christians hate to admit it, but it's true.

Did Jesus really perform miracles, heal the sick, raise the dead, and walk on water?

How can I know? I wasn't there 2,000 years ago. Neither are you.

I believe that 99.99% of so-called "Christians" would not have been followers of Jesus if they had lived in his time or appeared today. They like to think they will, but they won't.

It's easy to believe all you want about someone who lived 2,000 years ago and you've never met, but imagine if a Jew came to you today and told you that he is the "Son of God" and "The savior of "mankind", he told you to quit your job, leave your family/friends/husband/wife/kids, and come follow him...would you?Probably not.

I think religion is a prison. mind prison. They close your mind, brainwash you with childish delusions, and manipulate you with fears of hell and eternal damnation instead of encouraging you to think for yourself and see the world for what it really is.

I think most religious people are deluded, and these quotes illustrate it well:

“The problem with religion is that, because it is immune to criticism, it allows people to collectively believe things that only an idiot or lunatic would believe in isolation.” –Sam Harris

"When one suffers from delusions, it is called insanity. When many suffer from delusions, it is called religion." -Robert M. Pirsig

"You can't convince a believer of anything, because their belief is not based on evidence, but on a deep-seated need to believe." –Carl Sagan

I don't think we should teach our children Christianity, Judaism, Islam or any other religion, we should teach them critical thinking skills and let them make their own decisions instead of trying to indoctrinate or fear them with threats of hell and eternity. damnation Come and trade with them if they do not believe.

"Don't brainstorm your kids. Teach them how to think for themselves, how to evaluate the evidence, and how to argue against it."- Richard Dawkins

I believe that heaven and hell are the reason most people become Christians. Without the fear of death and hell, without the promise of heaven and the afterlife, what reason do ordinary people have to believe?

Finally: I think Christianity is an ancient, primitive, fear-based form of religion, based on an imaginary angry God (what Christians call a loving God) who never appears to anyone, never communicates with anyone. He talks to no one, never says anything but asks. that we believe him; otherwise we will burn in hell forever. Fortunately, I don't think there is any evidence to support this.

You can read my follow up to this article here:13x Wrong Jesus in the Bible

recommended viewing

Here is one of my favorite stand-up videos on religious BS:

No doubt,The experience of an atheistOne of the best ways to see the stupidity of religious arguments refuted is with Matt Dillahunty:

use

Crucifixion of Jesus Image Credit: Renata Sedmakova/Shutterstock.comJesus in Heaven Image Credit: Bill Perry/Shutterstock.com